Say More

The first days of the COVID pandemic feel like a movie looking back: we watched in horror as the virus ravaged China, Italy, and Iran - and wondered if we would be next. Now, five years later, we know what happened: the economy suffered from a prolonged shutdown, more than one million Americans died, and political polarization reached an all-time high. One person leading us through the chaos was physician Ashish Jha, the Dean of the Brown School of Public Health. He was a regular contributor to TV and radio news throughout the pandemic, and later worked for the Biden White House on COVID policy. This week on Say More, Ashish offers a mea culpa, saying health experts failed the public during the pandemic. He says they need to learn from their mistakes, because the next pandemic is around the corner. Email us at saymore@globe.com. To read Ahish Jha’s latest article in the Boston Globe, click here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The story of Sandra Birchmore may never have made headlines if it wasn’t for Laura Crimaldi, a Boston Globe reporter who spent years following the trail of Birchmore’s life and tragic death. While Birchmore’s death was originally ruled as a suicide, follow up investigations showed she was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a married Stoughton police officer, starting when she was a minor. This new line of investigation uncovered years of mistreatment by multiple officers and had Sandra’s loved ones asking why nothing was done to protect Sandra while she was alive. Guest host Jazmin Aguilera speaks to Globe reporters Laura Crimaldi and Yvonne Abraham about what it took to unravel this story. Email us at saymore@globe.com. Read Laura and Yvonne’s stories here: Chapter 1:  Sandra Birchmore put her trust in the police. They broke it. Chapter 2: Investigators assumed Sandra Birchmore took her own life. What did they miss?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michelle Wu is the first Boston Mayor to have a baby while in elected office, and while it was unprecedented, it wasn’t much of a news story. Pregnancy is increasingly normalized for powerful women, which is a sign of progress. But Wu’s decision to forgo maternity leave brings up important questions about the politics of motherhood: Can a champion of paid family leave justify not taking it herself? Is having a baby an asset or a liability on the campaign trail? Three working mothers – Globe columnists Shirley Leung and Joan Vennochi, and Say More producer Anna Kusmer – unpack the debate. Listen to “Say More” episodes at globe.com/saymore and wherever you get your podcasts. If you like the show, please follow us and leave us a review. You can email us at Saymore@globe.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Surveys show that more and more Americans put down the bottle this January to try out drinking less. For some people, the goal was sobriety, and for others, moderation. Researchers are finding that alcohol consumption is going down in general across the population after spiking during the pandemic. Helping the cause are some stark recommendations from top health officials saying alcohol can cause cancer. Shirley takes a trip to a non-alcoholic bottle shop in Boston to try some mocktails, and later talks to Dr. Scott Hadland, who is a substance use specialist at Mass General for Children. Email us at saymore@globe.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Writer Jenny Boylan is perplexed about why trans people “finding their peace” has resulted in such outrage from much of the American public. She moves forward in the only way she knows how: by continuing to write and tell stories about the humanity of the trans experience. Jenny transitioned 25 years ago and in that time she has seen the culture change dramatically when it comes to treatment of trans people. In some ways it’s gotten better, and in some ways it’s gotten worse. Jenny talks to editorial page editor Jim Dao about this scary moment in American politics and her new book, “Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us.” Email us at saymore@globe.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It happened. Trump was sworn in as 47th president of the United States, as only the second person in history to serve non-consecutive terms. Trump laid out a detailed list of priorities during his speech, but it’s still unclear what he will actually do, and what the Trump 2.0 coalition will look like. Will he stick to his populist roots? Or continue cozying up to billionaires? Will we see a new resistance to Trump from the left? Or a great resignation?  For this week’s episode of the Say More podcast, editorial page editor Jim Dao sits down with Globe Opinion columnist Joan Vennochi and Globe political reporter James Pindell to discuss what Trump 2.0 might have in store. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You wrote in, and we read everything. Say More’s THE COMMENT SECTION is a monthly exploration of the many forms of reader engagement found within the pages of Boston Globe Opinion. This week, we talked to columnist Marcela García about her pet stories. Recently, Marcela covered a fraught court case about pet euthanasia, and hundreds of readers wrote in about their own experiences. We also checked in with Globe Letters editor Matthew Bernstein to hear some of his favorite letters of the month. Email us at saymore@globe.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In modern US politics, no one’s star has risen and fallen more times than Joe Biden’s.  His life has been defined by the worst personal tragedy and the greatest professional success. After decades in politics, Biden leaves office with arguably his biggest failure, the loss of the presidency to Donald Trump. Will this final failure define the Biden presidency? Or will we think about him differently with time? This week on Say More editorial page editor Jim Dao talks to Biden biographer Frank Foer about Biden’s career and legacy. Email us at saymore@globe.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The last 12 months were tumultuous on Harvard’s campus: pro-Palestinian encampments took over the quad, students were suspended, and a university president lost her job. If those things weren’t enough, the story coincided with conservative activism happening throughout the country working against diversity programs - with a particular eye on Harvard. Could the events of the last year foreshadow the future of DEI on campus and beyond? This week on Say More, Shirley talks to Ilya Marritz, the reporter behind the Boston Globe’s new podcast series "The Harvard Plan." Email us at saymore@globe.com.  To listen to the first installment of The Harvard Plan, click here.To subscribe to The Globe podcast from The Boston Globe newsroom, click here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Author Amy Tan doesn’t just watch birds, she “feels the life within them.” Amy’s new book, “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” takes us into her daily journal, drawing and musing on the lives of birds in her backyard in California. Shirley Leung talks to Amy about her breakthrough novel, “The Joy Luck Club,” the agony of fiction writing, and whether she considers herself an Asian-American writer or just a writer. Throughout her career, Amy has written extensively about mother-daughter relationships, which partly stems from her own experience. Amy says her late mother is present in every one of her works, even this one. Email us at saymore@globe.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.